Time to Switch Over to the Dark Side of Garlic?

Black Garlic

Recently people have been discussing black garlic claiming that it has more nutritional benefit than regular garlic.  Black garlic is not chemically altered and does not possess any colors or additives.  The garlic actually gets its black color through fermentation.  The natural amino acids and sugars undergo fermentation and produce melanoidin and gives the garlic a jet black color.  It's similar to the process of creating dried fruit.  Black garlic has a more tender texture and a slightly sweeter taste, almost like molasses after fermentation and it lacks the usual potent odor of regular garlic and does not give you bad breath.  On the side of health and nutrition, black garlic has twice as many antioxidants compared to regular garlic and it contains a compound called S-Allycysteined and other compounds that fight off cancer cells.

Black garlic is normally found in Asian cuisine and is now becoming more and more well known and popular in the United States.  A lot of expensive and exclusive restaurants have incorporated black garlic in their dishes because it adds a different texture and appearance to the dishes.  The foreign factor and health benefits make black garlic an intriguing and new ingredient for American cooks.  In Asian countries they utilize black garlic for the amount of antioxidants and typically put the crushed cloves in "energy" drinks.  On the Food Network's program "Iron Chef America", black garlic was introduced and turned into a sauce during the preparation of monk fish.

Stages of Black Garlic Formation

After 45 days of aging the fermentation process is complete, and the garlic turns into jet black garlic and has more antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals.  A raw head of garlic has .332 mg of S-Allycysteined (the cancer fighting nutrient), 5 mg of calcium, 40 mg of phosphorus, and 3.3 g of protein.  Those are all great numbers and regular garlic is one of the healthiest ingredients you can add to your food.  When you compare the amount of nutrients of regular garlic to black garlic there is a significant difference.  Black garlic has 5.84 mg of S-Allycysteined, 36.66 mg of calcium, 80 mg of phosphorous, and 12.3 g of protein.  So can black garlic be categorized as a super-food and superior to it's once crowned healthy processor, it seems we're heading to the dark side from now on.